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Since family narratives seem to be all around us, the discussion around the family novel emerged in the last twenty years within Italian literary criticism. Although the definition of this genre still is a work-in-progress, different scholars have observed that recursive structures influence its form, particularly through what has been termed a repetition compulsion within the lineage. From its early manifestations in the 19th Century, the family novel has often relied on heredity as an organizing principle.

How can the genealogical principle of the family novel survive Naturalism and Verism, persisting throughout the 20th and 21st Century? Through the lens of transgenerational trauma theory and postmemory it may be possible to gain deeper insight into some of its features such as the relationship between family and collective history, the role of seriality, and the tension between traditional and experimental forms.

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for Italian Studies.